Vince Curatola courtesy hillaryclinton.com
So who did Vince Curatola — aka The Sopranos’ New York mob boss Johnny Sack — have to whack to get his cameo in Hillary Clinton’s spoof of the series' finale (available in our Online Video Guide)? Curatola tells TV Guide he was having dinner with his wife when he got a call from Sopranos director Allen Coulter, telling him that Clinton media guy Jimmy Siegel was doing a video the next morning in a diner near the Clintons’ Chappaqua, New York, home. “I said it sounds good,” Curatola relates, so on Father’s Day, he and his wife headed to the Coach Diner in Mount Kisco. “In walks Bill and Hillary, who run right over and say, ‘Thank you for coming out on a Sunday morning,’” says Curatola. “They were just a lot of fun — and Hillary was very bubbly.” Turns out the former (and maybe future) First Couple are such Sopranos fans that they were able to quote some of Johnny Sack’s more memorable lines. They also had...
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HBO has announced a Sept. 9 premiere for Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq, a documentary special produced by Sopranos alum James Gandolfini and his nascient Attaboy Films shingle. Alive Day Memories looks at the new generation of war veterans from the point of view of 10 soldiers.... Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds) will play wife Clemmie to Brendan Gleeson's Winston in Churchill at War, HBO Films/BBC Films' follow-up to The Gathering Storm.
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The Sopranos courtesy HBO
The Soprano family finally agrees on something: the way David Chase wound up the series was criminally good. "It was a great ending.... Exactly what it should have been," James Gandolfini tells the New York Daily News. Adds "daughter" Jamie-Lynn Sigler, "I can't think of a single better way to have ended the show" — though she cops to being befuddled by Meadow's spastic parking. Also deeming the finale "great" is Edie Falco: "I have never second-guessed David Chase, and I'm not about to start now."As for what happened after the screen went black, Gandolfini says, "You have to ask David Chase. Smarter minds than mine know the answer to that." Maybe a film will give answers? "Don't look at me," shrugs Gandolfini. "All I know is that it's over."Perhaps very much so. After speaking with Chase, an HBO spokesperson tells Reuters that a scene from an earlier episode — in which Bobby and Tony speculate on what happens when you die — "is one of the most legitimate things to lo...
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Michael Imperioli, The Sopranos
About a year ago, I found out that Christopher was going to die. [Sopranos creator] David Chase told me. He told me how it would happen, and I thought it was a great idea. It was very unexpected and revealed a really interesting and twisted side of Tony's character.
People think it was unjust of Tony to do that to Christopher. But I think it was good, because it's easy to forget that these characters have a very vicious and ruthless side to them. People fell in love with these guys, especially with Tony — they see him with the family, and they see him being this loyal boss. But there's also this side that is selfish, greedy and violent. I think it's good that when the sun sets, that's going to be one aspect of how he'll be remembered.
We filmed my death scene in the wintertime. You know what I found interesting
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The clock is ticking for Vic Mackie and Tony Soprano, infamously iconic characters who blur the line between hero and villain and yet earn our empathy as they head to their fates. Their landmark series are back, each in top form yet entirely different in impact.
The Shield (returns Tuesday, April 3, 10 pm/ET on FX) is first-rate pulp fiction, blisteringly intense as it grabs you by the throat. The Sopranos (returns Sunday, April 8, 9 pm/ET on HBO) is more like classic literature, achieving a level of artistry with its aching yet witty realism while delivering violent jolts that sneak up on you like a sucker punch.
A melancholy tone haunts these final episodes of The Sopranos. "Is this it?" Carmela wonders aloud as the story resumes. I'm afraid it is, but if the first two episodes are any indication, what a way to go out.
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During HBO's portion of the TCA Tour, it was announced that The Sopranos and Entourage will both return on April 8. Sopranos creator David Chase will write and direct the last of his mob hit's final nine episodes. In related news, Sopranos star James Gandolfini is producing a documentary for HBO in which he interviews wounded soldiers. The special, whose working title is Alive Day: Home from Iraq, is scheduled to premiere on July 4.
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Rock band Taking Back Sunday will perform as themselves on the Jan. 12 episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation, marking the return of Jake Epstein (Craig). Also of note: Degrassi: TNG will enter U.S. syndication in the fall of 2007.... The Sopranos' James Gandolfini will serve as celebrity monarch Bacchus during the 2007 Mardi Gras season.... AMC presents George Clooney: An American Cinematheque Tribute tonight at 8 pm/ET.... Air Bud's five puppies star in Air Buddies, now out on DVD.... Green Lantern creator Martin Nodell died of natural causes on Saturday. He was 91.
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Question: I just need to vent to someone who understands. As I watched you Thursday morning on Good Morning America, I was so glad they had an expert to analyze the noms. After they announced the names, and I stopped screaming at the TV (never more so than at Lost's omission), I was trying to read on your face all the things I was feeling. It seems like what was supposed to be an experiment for good (the new voting system) was a catastrophe. It was finally going to give the Lauren Grahams and Kristen Bells a real shot. In the end, not only did they not benefit, but Lost, James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Hugh Laurie and a host of others that would surely have been nominated under the old system were excluded. It seems ridiculous that a show that won last year's Emmy for best drama, and was generally just as well-received by critics in its sophomore year, was totally snubbed. I was already nervous the night before when Tom O'Neill predicted that Lost would not be nominated because that ...
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Hugh Laurie, House
Question: Six of one, half dozen of the other, huh? So much for the "improved" Emmy nomination process. It seems that just as many glaring omissions were made this time around as before, just different ones. Now, rather than the overlooked performers from small shows getting shafted, the respected stars from equally respected shows got the pie in the face. How any panel of humans viewing televised programming could find five more deserving fellow Homo sapiens than Hugh Laurie in the best-lead-actor category boggles the mind. Yes, Denis Leary, Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart got welcome nods, but the rest? Sheesh! No James Gandolfini or Edie Falco, but Martin Sheen and Geena Davis? No Jason Bateman or Lauren Graham, but Kevin James and Sto
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The Television Critics Assoc. (of which I'm a member) just came out with its 2006 TCA Award nominations and, save for the Battlestar Galactica snub, it's a pretty fraktastic lineup. I'm especially jazzed that after years of checking off Lauren Graham's name, our girl finally made the cut. Ditto Scrubs. With any luck, both will prevail on July 23 when the trophies are handed out. (FYI: If the TCA brass are reading this, I've got dibbs on presenting Lauren with her award if she wins. C'mon, it's a no-brainer.) A list of the major nominees are below. See if you can guess who I'm voting for.INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDYSteve Carell (The Office) Stephen Colbert (The Colbert Report) Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) Jason Lee (My Name Is Earl) Jon Stewart (The Daily Show) INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMAAlan Alda (The West Wing) James Gandolfini (The Sopranos) Hugh Laurie (House) Kiefer Sutherland (24) Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM OF THE YEAR Big Love (HBO) The Colbert...
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